Canaries Played Well Despite Defeat

Norwich manager Paul Lambert accepted it was simply not his side’s day after they suffered a 2-0 home defeat by Portsmouth.

A second-half strike from Dave Kitson and an injury-time penalty by Greg Halford, conceded by Leon Barnett who was sent off for a second booking, secured Pompey their first win at Carrow Road in 23 years and unfortunately ended the Canaries’ fantastic six-match unbeaten streak.

The Canaries’ did rule the play for long periods but were pushed back by a string of fine saves from Pompey goalkeeper Jamie Ashdown.

Lambert said: “We will play a lot worse than that and win games, that’s for sure. I certainly can’t complain about the way the lads performed today. They passed it very well, created chances and it was just one of those days when it didn’t go in, with their goalkeeper making one or two good saves as well.

“I thought we dominated the game for long periods but Portsmouth are a good side. You have got to remember that they have just come down from the Premier League and we have only just come up to this division.

“We have lost the game but the level that the players are producing at the moment is really high. We have got a lot of good players here, who are doing everything that I asked of them, and now it is just a case of moving onto the next game.”

Cotterill said: “This was a really big win for us. I saw Norwich last week at Derby so I knew we would be up against a very good side today. The lads showed a lot of character out there, epitomised by Jamie Ashdown, who had only just recovered from an appendix operation but was determined to go out there and do his bit, which he did by making some really good saves.

“We were under a lot of pressure, especially in the first half but I thought the back four defended really well and we didn’t allow them too many sights of goal. One side of their midfield diamond was causing us some problems so we changed it at half-time and I thought that helped us.”

Anglian Home Improvements supporting communities across the country. For information on our products visit our website.